Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 3: The win’s the thing

It’s never a chore to #BeatLA, and of course I would be perfectly fine with nineteen games finishing in this score during the regular season. But it would be a more satisfying win, if the Diamondbacks hadn’t scored all five runs in the seventh inning, after most of the Dodgers’ regulars were out of the game, and off a pitcher with zero experience above the Double-A level. At the stretch, Arizona were 2-0 down, having managed just two hits and a walk through the front six innings. Clayton Kershaw, for example, faced the minimum over his four frames. The only Diamondback to reach base was Carson Kelly, who led off the bottom of the first with a single, only to be erased one out later on a Christian Walker double-play.

Corbin Martin started for the D-backs, and went 2.2 innings, allowing two runs - one in the first and one in the third - on two hits and a walk, with a pair of strikeouts. But the Arizona bullpen were pretty effective, holding Los Angeles to one run on three hits over the final 6.1 innings. There were hitless frames from Joe Mantiply, Ian Kennedy and J.B. Wendelken. The last-named struck out two of the three batters faced, and also got the W, being the beneficiary of the offensive outburst in the bottom of the seventh. Drey Jameson got the save, striking out three over the last two innings, though did allow the Dodgers’ third run. Eight strikeout compared to only one walk by the D-backs’ staff this afternoon.

As noted Arizona did all their damage in the seventh. David Peralta continued his strong spring, tying the game up with his third home-run of the pre-season. The Diamondbacks took the lead on a Cooper Hummer RBI double, with Seth Beer and Juan Graterol then following up with run-scoring knocks of their own. Arizona’s eight hits and two walks were spread around ten different players, but Peralta now has an OPS for spring of 1.389, and Beer is even higher, at 1.726. With little more than a week of games left, it’s looking increasingly hard for Torey Lovullo to find a way to keep him off the Opening Day roster. Above are some highlights, including Jameson throwing at 100 mph.

Tomorrow, Arizona travels down to Sloan Park to face the Cubs, with Zach Davies making his first start in Sedona Red. It’s a 1:10 pm first pitch.